Hydraulic PHD recommendations?

[Fallon]

My old PHD ran off with my old L3200 when I upgraded to my L4060. It was a 3pt unit I converted to fit on a quick hitch. It had a200lbs chunk of steel over the gearbox & the hydraulic toplink could lift the back end off the ground (bad idea balancing on the PHD & front axle pin, not to mention the stress on the rear end) for the first foot maybe 2 of the hole. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/327212-quick-hitch-3-point-hole-5.html#post4004229

I've done several hundred holes for myself & others over the past 2 years & anticipate doing a few hundred a year as part of my side gig.

Once I got the right teeth in my auger or kept unworn teeth in the auger I really never had problems digging. I've gotten a good bite a few times & stalled the tractor, but luckily never corkscrewed an auger.

I've got beefy 12" & 9" Pengo augers & a light 6" left over (light 12" went with the old PHD & L3200). All my augers are 2" round drive. I also have a spare PHD frame I picked up a while back for $20. I figure $200 for a PTO shaft & $200-300 for a gearbox I could build me another QH PHD in a weekend.

Are most hydraulic units 2" hex or 2 9/16" round? Would mean I'd need an adapter to use my existing augers.

Any recommendations on a reasonably priced hydraulic unit? I have a 3rd function on the L4060 & I think just over 9gpm of usable flow. I also have a spare SSQA plate I could build my own mount on if I came across a good deal for just the PHD running gear.

Looking at used on Craigslist or auctions half heartedly for a while (i had my old PTO PHD until Novemver) everything I've seen has been over $2k. At that price I'm tempted to just build another QH 3pt unit for now.

 

[jenkinsph]

Fallon,
I don't remember how much I paid for the hydraulic auger but it was more than $2K by a good amount. You can get adaptors for the various bits from Everything Attachments. I did look at EA's offerings but did not see any deals.

You may be better off building up another pto operated model. Just depends on how rocky the ground is in your local.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon,
I don't remember how much I paid for the hydraulic auger but it was more than $2K by a good amount. You can get adaptors for the various bits from Everything Attachments. I did look at EA's offerings but did not see any deals.

You may be better off building up another pto operated model. Just depends on how rocky the ground is in your local.

Ya, i looked at ETA too. We have clay around here with some areas of pretty abrasive sand. Not really any rocks Combine the decent ground with the extra weight over the gearbox & QH reingineering mitigates a lot of the common PTO drawbacks.

I still want a hydraulic auger, but having a hard time justifying the extra cost. Hoping I could find a good deal on one enough to justify a hydraulic unit.

 

[TomSeller]

My Danuser hydraulic PHD has the 2" hex. No need for a shear pin, the hydraulics act as a limiter. I really like a hydraulic unit over a 3 pt

 

[jenkinsph]

Ya, i looked at ETA too. We have clay around here with some areas of pretty abrasive sand. Not really any rocks Combine the decent ground with the extra weight over the gearbox & QH reingineering mitigates a lot of the common PTO drawbacks.

I still want a hydraulic auger, but having a hard time justifying the extra cost. Hoping I could find a good deal on one enough to justify a hydraulic unit.

My phd is mounted on the backhoe with a quick coupler. This allows me to get into tight spots that were difficult to reach with a 3pt phd and makes for easier positioning. In my locale (Ruidoso NM) steep terrain and large rocks made the hyd. phd a good choice. I did not need it for my property which is sandy loam soil but some of my customer locations were tough to deal with. I have a pair of large pipe wrenches that I have not had to use since buying the hyd. set up. Having reverse is necessary for a lot of my jobs. Installing custom built iron gates I have to be able to drill the holes in the right spot and can't move the holes over to miss a rock.

If you don't have rocks to deal with or steep terrain I would go with a similar phd to what you had before. The hyd. phd are not near as efficient as the pto operated units, the higher torque models need quite a bit more flow to turn them at a reasonable speed. You can use a pto model at idle speeds where the hyd. model would need high rpms to work well. Also where mounted on a tractor the line of sight is better using a 3ph model than a front mounted model that is centered on a skid steer adaptor. I do not want to pay someone on the ground to guide me to drill holes.

 

[TomSeller]

Also where mounted on a tractor the line of sight is better using a 3ph model than a front mounted model that is centered on a skid steer adaptor. .

There are side mount hydraulic PHD for FELs. The PHD head is mounted to one side where it is easier (for me anyway) to see than on the 3 pt. MUCH more safe, there are tins of 3 pt PHD serious and often deadly accidents from the PTO or from attempts at getting downforce.